Strange Encounters
by Shadowdemon321
Summary: The Ghost Adventures Crew are investigating a mental asylum, with their newest investigator Katania. But this isn't a normal lockdown, as they will soon find out. Rated M for some language, just to be safe.
1. The Mystery Is Set

I am back! Now with 20% more ghosts! :D. Here is my first GAC fic, so please be nice if they don't seem real. It's my first one, I tried. I would like to know, though, so I can possibly improve.

And, for the record, though this kind of favors Nick (who is not married in this fic), Zak is by far my favorite. But I love all of them.

So, enjoy!

By the way, this is not a real lockdown they have done, I made it up.

I don't own Zak, Nick, or Aaron, though I wish I did. I only own Katania (Kah-tahn-ya).

. .

Chapter 1

"…and _that_ is why we're here." Zak finished seriously. Aaron and Nick turned off their cameras, and Zak relaxed.

"Okay, now we just need to do a couple interviews," Aaron announced cheerfully.

"Isn't the first one with the kid who says he got possessed?" Nick asked, fiddling with something on his camera.

"You mean that really cute guy with the skull necklace?" a female voice quipped, and a slender girl with pale hair and lively blue-green eyes bounced up. Zak rolled his eyes and turned to stare up at the huge mental asylum they were investigating. The place was pretty impressive, with stories of violent attacks, possessions, and evil, threatening voices. They'd just finished filming the episode's intro, which Zak didn't especially like; he felt like an idiot talking to the camera like that. He preferred touring the town.

Behind him, Nick laughed. "How the hell should we know if he's cute?"

"Yeah, Katania, how should we know?" Aaron joked. Zak could only imagine her pout. Katania Gage, longtime friend and most recent GAC investigator, usually only had three things on her mind; ghosts, food, and boys. She'd only been on a few lockdowns, but Zak and Nick had known her since they'd med Aaron, who had introduced her the first time they'd really talked. All four of them were very close, and only recently had they discovered her talent with finding and communicating with spirits. So they'd recruited her as their newest investigator, with incredible results. They only wished they'd done it sooner.

He turned to face them in time to see the delicate-looking girl bring back her arm and smack Aaron. He yelped and trotted back a few steps. Katania pursed her lips, attempting to hold back laughter at the wounded expression on Aaron's face. Nick didn't even try, doubling over and clutching his stomach. Zak sighed, hoping they weren't like this for the interviews and lockdown. He attempted to get their attention four times before they looked at him.

"Why don't we go do Aaron's vlog?" he suggested, hoping to keep them occupied. "We can tour the city a bit." _Just as long as we don't see something like that damn clown motel._

Unfortunately for him, it seemed the other three had the same thought. Once they'd grabbed a camera for the vlog and headed out, Katania had pointed out, of all things, a circus-themed diner, which Aaron and Nick had insisted they eat lunch at. Outnumbered three-to-one, Zak reluctantly tagged along. Inside, he sat rigidly, refusing to look anywhere but his plate and phone. His "friends" were barely containing hysterical laughter, he could tell. Damn backstabbers. By the time they'd oh-so-leisurely finished eating, he was ready to sprint across the state just to get away from the damn Hell Clowns. He did bolt out the door, much to the others' amusement. He thoroughly hated them, and wanted to die in a hole somewhere. But of course, the moment Katania melted over a two-year-old who smiled at her, all his anger dissolved. Nobody could stay mad at that.

After they dragged a reluctant Katania away from the still-smiling kid, they went back to the asylum for the interview.

They met the guy out front, and began asking questions. But he kept flirting with Katania, and all three of them were feeling more than a bit protective. Thankfully, it was a short interview, and he left before one of them hit him. They decided to go on a quick tour of the building, to introduce themselves to the spirits, and so they hopefully didn't get lost once the lockdown began. As they walked around, they noticed Katania's mood gradually grow darker, to the point where Zak pulled her aside to ask – demand – what was wrong. She insisted she was fine, and he had no choice but to accept that.

About fifteen minutes in, they all heard a dark, very clear voice say, "She's back." Katania looked about ready to bolt, so Nick put a comforting arm around her shoulder. She leaned into his embrace, and he could feel her trembling. Something was definitely wrong, and yet she still insisted she was fine. This pissed Nick off. He put his hands on her shoulders and made her face him, shaking her a bit.

"Why won't you tell us what's wrong?" he nearly begged. When she didn't answer, Zak took out a digital recorder.

"Maybe whatever else is here will tell us."

The little red light blinked on. "Who are you?" Pause. "You said 'she's back'. Do you know Katania?" The light went off, and all three men leaned in to listen.

They heard the first question, and immediately after: "Master." After the second question: "Yes…father…useless."

Aaron was the first to break the ensuing silence. "Well, he sounded friendly."

"He said 'father'." Zak pointed out, then glanced at Katania for an explanation. When she still stayed silent he sighed.

"What about 'Master' and 'useless'?" Nick asked. "It was the same voice."

"Later." was the only thing Katania said before turning on her heel and leaving. The other three stood there a moment longer before Zak sighed again and followed, Nick and Aaron soon leaving, as well.

. .

Sorry it's short, I will try to make the others longer! I don't know how long this story will end up, because I tend to make things happen very fast. Next chapter, Katania explains the mysterious voice. And it's probably not what you think.

Review! :).


	2. From Then To Now

I'm back again! Not much to say.

Chapter 2!

I don't own or control Zak, Nick, or Aaron. Only the fake ones in my story :(.

. .

Chapter 2

After leaving the asylum, all four of them went back to the hotel they were staying at. Since Katania never actually got her own room, always just staying in one of theirs and splitting the bill, they migrated to Nick's room and sat down in the tiny living room area. Katania let out a deep breath and crossed her arms, leaning forward a bit. Zak, Nick, and Aaron waited patiently for her to begin. She did so reluctantly, and nearly silent. They had to strain to listen.

"Well, ever since I was born, my father hated me. He was very cruel, and constantly told me I was useless, I would never be anything more than a slutty bitch. He was already abusing Mom, physically and otherwise, and soon started on me. I learned how to give a blowjob before I learned to walk. I learned what a whip tipped with razors felt like before I knew how to eat with a fork. Which is really saying something, because my mental growth was always very advanced. I lost my virginity when I was nine. He would keep me locked up in the basement for weeks on end, and occasionally I'd hear him hurt Mom. My back is permanently scarred from that whip. I have a tattoo covering the marks, but I still know they're there. That's why I never wear swimsuits. But anyway, he was very cruel. One day he just snapped and decided just hurting us wasn't enough. See, we'd kept him from hurting my brother, who was at this time only three, but I think he needed more. So, he gathered all my relatives, including Mom and Jackson, my brother, and brought them here. Aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, they all came. All except me, because I was locked up in the basement recovering from his latest assault. He made sure to film it for me, though.

So, he brought them the largest room – it was abandoned at this point, so I don't know why they went in – he brought them there, lined them up, told them if they screamed he'd make it slow and painful, and began picking them off one by one." Katania swallowed, tears running down her face. "I could tell you the exact order they were killed.

Jackson screamed. He was only a little kid, he didn't know better. But Father – Master – took it as a personal insult. His own son was defying him. It took Jackson an hour and thirty-three minutes to die. Mom was the next and last one. She tried to fight, but Father was stronger, and it just made him mad. Before he killed her he said, 'And this is for giving me that useless, dirty bitch.' She looked him dead in the eyes and told him, 'At least she won't be like you.' He was so mad he nearly stabbed her head clean off. Then he scattered the bodies all over the building. He put Mom and Jackson on the other side of the room he killed them in, side by side. He laid down next to them, put a gun to his head, and pulled the trigger. After this, someone came in and turned the camera off. When they went to search his house was the first time anyone knew he had a daughter. I was ten years old. Later, someone sent me the video, which I immediately showed the police. They still haven't found the other person."

"So that's why you never go anywhere on holidays," Aaron mused. He supposed it was a ridiculous thing to say, but he couldn't concentrate on anything else.

She nodded distractedly, her normally bright eyes dead. The movement caused her hair to shift, showing off a few of the highlights she had; blue, green, and purple. She had red, too, but it wasn't visible at the moment. The flash of color momently distracted Aaron's already shock-numbed brain. Nick and Zak seemed to be faring only slightly better.

"So…" Zak began. "Do you not want to be in this lockdown, or…"

Still not losing that dead look, Katania shook her head. "No, I need to do this. I…I need to hear them again…and maybe even stand up to him. To Father."

"Just be careful," Zak told her. Nick nodded his agreement.

"Yeah, I don't think any of us want you to get hurt over this."

The tiny girl in front of them laughed weakly and humorlessly. "What's he gonna do, scratch me?"

"Just be careful," Zak repeated. "You don't know how strong he is."

"And you do have another day to back out," Aaron reminded.

"I won't."

And through the rest of that day she didn't show any sign of relenting. But she also never lost that increasingly unnerving dead look in her eyes. When she pulled out the couch-bed and laid down, Nick let out a silent sigh of relief. Maybe sleep would help her.

. .

The next day they prepped for the lockdown, managing to squeeze in another interview as they did. Katania seemed better, but the guys were still worried. She carried through, and let herself be locked inside the site of her family's murders. She was extremely jumpy, though; the slightest noise, even if it was one of them, scared the hell out of her.

They made sure she was never by herself (which Aaron enjoyed, because then they didn't make him sit by himself), and yet somehow she managed to wander off by herself while they were doing an EVP session, in the dark, no less (they hadn't let her have a camera, in hopes that she would want to stay by them). They didn't realize she was gone until they were done listening to a female voice answering their questions. Nick, having an enormous crush on her, immediately panicked, but was calmed slightly by Zak taking charge and making sure none of them got separated while they searched. They finally found her in a long room, huddled in the corner. Her knees were drawn up to her chest, her hands plastered to her ears, her eyes squeezed shut, and she was rocking slightly. Her gasping sobs were barely audible.

Nick wasted no time in rushing over and wrapping his arms tightly around her. She didn't react until he began to murmur soothingly.

"Make it stop," she whispered. "Make it stop make it stop make it stop…"

"Make what stop?" Nick asked, fearing she'd snapped, lost her mind.

"Screaming, they're screaming he's laughing make it stop my head's gonna explode please make it stop," she sobbed pitifully. Nicked held her tighter and glanced at Zak for help. Zak turned to Aaron.

"Hey, you have the spirit box, right?" he asked. Wide-eyed, Aaron nodded, then realized Zak couldn't see him, because he'd lowered his camera.

"Yeah, it's right here." He took it out and handed it to Zak.

"Now isn't really the best time," Nick growled.

"Actually, it's the perfect time," Zak stated calmly, and turned the spirit box on. Immediately, screams poured out of the speakers, male and female. Audible over that was a man laughing hysterically, maniacally. They listened to it for a couple minutes, all wondering how she heard it. Nick clenched his haw and stood, releasing Katania.

"Stop it!" he shouted. "Stop making them scream! Stop scaring Katania! Go away!"

The laughter grew louder, then stopped just long enough for the man to say, "Fuck you," before starting again.

Nick jumped when a small hand tugged on the bottom of his shirt. A tiny voice came through. "Kat, leave!" A pause, then: "Take care of her."

"That sounded like a little kid!" Aaron exclaimed.

"Jackson…" Katania whispered. "Oh, Jackson, no…"

Zak, totally done with this, grabbed Katania's arm, hauled her to her feet, and dragged her out, turning the spirit box off as he did. Nick hurried after them, leaving Aaron by himself. Aaron hesitated for a some reason, using his camera to look around. He wasn't all the surprised to see a man standing there, partly because he was suddenly very lethargic. The man approached quickly, bearing in on him like a wolf coming in for the kill, picking out the slowest of the herd.

. .

Review!


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